FFAngel
by Seena58
Summary: FFVIIxDNAngel: The world has been polluted with gasses. It will destroy them all, and an evil will return to the land. Can a band of travelers, two entities and a chocobo deal with the situation and save the world? Only time will tell. [some shounenai]
1. Prologue

Disclaimers: FFVII and DNAngel are legal properties to the owners and companies, so I'm filching off them.

000

Prologue:

A world long since plunged into the depths of despair, with no dreams, no hope, no future. They had long since come to that conclusion, and yet the truth would still hurt, despite it all.

Maybe that was what they had been missing in the first place.

Forgotten memories and voices that floated past and beyond what was seen as normal, as well as the creatures that roamed the earth and their territory. It was nothing new to them.

Locked in that one place because of the creatures, which were dangerous except to those who knew how to defend themselves; and that was not fore coming aside from the mercenaries.

The darkness that was spreading once more.

The DNA bloodline that was said to be cursed.

And the fatal people who would involved in the spiral of complete and utter chaos.

Mako energy had been their first problem.

Saving the world had been their next.

And…

They hadn't even known it to be coming in the first place.

The answer and explanation to all this was one word.

Cetra.

000

"Hey! Niwa, right?" waved a brunette woman from the side of a train that was just about to set off on its course to who knew where. The boy waved back in the affirmative reply and she leaned out the window, "Come on! You're going to be left behind!"

Sprinting, the redhead jumped in as another person pulled the doors open for him. Landing slightly on the hard side, he glanced up at the rest of the little group he had agreed to join in with.

"So you're the one that was hired?" one of the men asked from the side of the train.

((Yeah, you gotta problem with that?))

(Quiet, really.) He rolled his eyes, which was a marvelous shade of ruby and nodded once. "What am I supposed to do anyway? The briefing mentioned mako reactors and dealing with the Shinra."

"That's right," another man, this one with a gun arm, grunted, unamused from his seat, "This has gone too far and someone has to deal with these life-sucking maniacs."

"Now, really…" reprimanded the only woman present.

"Uh, boss," another man cut in helpfully, "Maybe we should get a move on now. Staying in this storage carriage isn't helping all that much."

"Hmph."

000

Wiping the bar down, a rather pretty brunette with shoulder length hair glanced up at the television screen, as if waiting for something to happen. Of course, the roaring of drunken maniacs around her weren't helping matters all that much; she stifled a sigh.

It usually wasn't this bad most of the time, and she felt sorry for the child currently sitting in the corner of the room, making herself as unobtrusive as possible. But then again, there were only two of three actual drunks, as the rest just hung around and talked while eating and drinking.

Ah, the life of a bartender.

Flicking her hair back, the brunette bent down from the counter and brushed the little girls dirty blonde bangs out of the way, "Misaki, is it too loud for you?"

"No… just too many people…" the little girl replied.

"It'll be fine. Once your father gets home..." came the reassured reply.

"Okay," Misaki smiled brightly, something completely different from when she was in a neutral state or scared; it was almost like a light-bulb reference, but she was cute and all.

"Uhm, excuse me?" a customer looked over the counter. Popping right back up cheerfully – and scaring the hell out of them – she grinned.

"Yes? What do you want?"

Her eyes slid over to where the television was located (a small box thing, pathetic, really) and wondered how much longer she would have to wait now.

000

Tending to the flowers in a dilapidated church, a blonde flower girl brushed her hair back, content with where she was. The whole place seemed to glow in her light, a soft gentle shine that could not be rivaled against.

How these plants managed to live in such a dreary and god forsaken place, no one would ever be able to tell. And just the mere fact that they were alive in the first place was surprising. So very, very surprising.

The flower girl smiled slowly, watching as some weak sunlight filtered through the stained glass windows. Either way, life was good.

000

Something white, and fluffy, with a tail that seemed to be made out of fire, hopped around the cylinder cage.

"Kyu!"

The scientist currently there frowned, "Can't you say anything else?"

"Kyu!"

"Gah! I give up. I need a break."

The creature watched as he disappeared. "Kyu!"

000

"Huzzah! I can see the future!" called a silver-haired woman, who was clutching onto a stuffed moogle with a little pink bird sitting on her head as she tried to promote her business; fortune telling. Not that anyone was paying all that much attention to her, but she didn't seem to care the least.

The entire Gold Saucer area – which was more or less an amusement park with some entertaining games and all – was get out in such a way that people could get lost easily. And that made business more amusing for her.

"Come on! I can tell you your fortunes for as little as 3 GP! Don't think I'm not a professional!"

She gave the stuffed toy in her hand a squeeze and it made a wheezing sound and she frowned, "I'm going to have to replace that…"

000

Hopping deftly over from one branch to another, a short-haired girl stared at the blue sky, not knowing why, but not exactly caring. Her hair band whipped as a breeze shot right past her and the large shuriken she possessed was strapped to her back in such a way so that she didn't cause herself any damage or jabbing or… well, anything that would hinder her in any way.

Ignoring the monsters that were running around below her, the girl leaned back on the branch she was currently on, and watched the patterns that the clouds made. When she spoke, it was to no one in particular.

"Who will be the next victim…?"

She flipped a coin in the air, and grinned.

000

Frowning, the pilot messed with the controls to no avail. Tools and cables seemed to be everywhere and he growled slightly as he discovered another error that was getting in the way. Pulling something out, he yanked at the cables that were currently short-circuiting.

"Not again…" he grumbled.

Looking into the compartment that made the most of the rocket, a girl with round glasses poked her head in, "Uhm… shouldn't you be taking a break now…?"

He pointedly ignored her, and she sighed.

000

Somewhere, deep in slumber, one has to wonder what will become of them next. Stuck in there, no one knows that he exists. Ah well, the damn mansion will probably end up falling on his head before someone discovers him.

Yet a single word is forced out of his parched lips.

"Rika…"

000

Biding one's time will end up coming with rather… useful results.

As he was soon to find out.

He smirked, watching the dreary town before him, and knew that the chance was coming to him. At least he didn't have to chase it.

Soon the cetra would awaken… and the Promised Land would be open once more.

What he never expected was a band of rebels to get in the way.

But oh well, he could deal with them.

Or could he?

000

There is something stirring in the land once more, the calling of the earth's life has reached its peak. What will become of them? Will the heroes make it? Or will they fail and fall to the ground?

It's time to set out, once more and see if the Ancients will be free again…

000

Confused? Well, it's just a little intro to each character who plays a role. An FFVII/DNAngel crossover fic; who would have thought it? Comments are most welcome and enjoy!

And yeah… I know I shouldn't put more up… but I couldn't pass the chance once it got in my head XD


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimers: FFVII and DNAngel are legal properties to the owners and companies, so I'm filching off them.

000

Chapter One:

Dark clouds of smoke rose into the rafters as dim noises faded and rose over the sounds of rattling engines and trains. Small huddled figures tried to make themselves as small as possible, as to avoid being noticed by those stronger and a lot scarier than themselves, but no one was there to really say of do anything. As long as what they did didn't threaten the larger companies, then those living in the slums would be okay; they wanted no trouble, so they caused no trouble. That was the simple notion of the balance between peace and all-out war, in which residents would be unable to protect themselves.

And yet, there were some who would try and rebel against those with the higher powers.

Who were they? Why did they do it?

AVALANCHE.

That was what they were known as.

Above the deafening noise of the rattling as the train sped onwards, it plunged deeper into the darkness and pungent smells that would meet any approaches senses and make them recoil in disgust. The slums were far from sanitarily safe, but there was nothing they could do about it. The entire section of Midgar had long since been polluted to the point that it was quite common for the people living within them to die of some form of poisoning or another.

There was no colour, no matter where one looked. Dark browns, greys and black seemed to make up most of the surrounding area and no one had even bothered to make civilised pathways from one area to another in the first place, to dust clouds seemed to be common as well.

But that was beside the point and no one seemed to give a damn about it anyway. Entering a large tunnel, the carriages and the people within were instantly engulfed in the darkness, yet they didn't make a sound; never spoke, never moved. They didn't need to.

Catching sight of the platform, a brunette wearing a faded red bandanna waved to her companions; all of which had been sitting on the uncomfortable plastic seats and staring listlessly out without much interest. But as soon as she had made the gesture, they were instantly alert and were up on their feet. Anyone else in the carriage was either asleep or indifferent as the small band of people left that area and into a carriage that was completely deserted.

"So we're nearly there?"

"Yeah, this is our stop."

"All the other passengers won't notice the chaos outside then?"

"Doubt it. Look at them; they've already lost whatever strands of livelihood they may have had in the first place."

"I kinda pity them…"

"And you should be rightfully!"

Ignoring the bickering between two of the members, a redhead stood a little away from the rest, plucking at the frays of his shirt, which was black, and ignoring the slight jab in his side when his – rather – large sword swung over his shoulder. It was surprising at all to even consider him a fighter, as he was quite small in statue and his eyes flickered with innocence and sincerity, but all the same…

((Can't they just shut up already?))

(Oh, you're awake?)

((Only because of them.))

(Makes sense.)

The train screeched to a halt suddenly and the sharp blow of a whistle reached their ears. There was a murmur of complaint from the other passengers with the waiting, but the group – which consisted of one woman and three other men – instantly made a beeline for the opening hatch right above their heads. And yet the redhead didn't move.

It wasn't long before the sounds of muffled yells and surprised yelps reached his sharp hearing, as well as the hefty thud of either someone tripping or getting their head knocked into the side of the carriage; which left a pretty firm dent in it, which was quite alarming.

((Should we go?))

He inclined his head for a moment, listening for any other sounds of life; (Yeah, I think it's all clear.)

With ease that screamed long-since experience, the redhead hopped upwards and caught the edge of the open hatch without much difficulty and pulled himself up. Flipping over the steel edge and onto the actual platform, he frowned at the two limp forms of the station guards that had already been dealt with.

Tucking both hands into the pockets of his pants, he looked around, as is waiting for something.

((Think they're carrying anything of use for us?)) Asked the voice in his head curiously.

(I doubt it.)

((Then let's move on.))

(Right.)

He had only taken two steps towards the only way out of the place when two more guards made themselves present. As the low whistle of the train carried overhead into the once still place, the two red-garbed soldiers held up their weapons menacingly, warily watching the redhead from under their helmets.

"This is a restricted area," one of the guards said slowly, voice muffled thanks to the helmet.

Smiling innocently, the redhead slowly pulled his weapon out of its sheath, "Really?" he asked.

"Yes. Now clear off, kid."

There was a snigger in the back of his mind, ((Whoops. Wrong answer.))

The smile never left the teen's face, "Of course."

What happened next was more of a blur: the redhead had darted forward with his sword withdrawn and before either of the guards could have reacted, he had slammed one fist – accompanied with the hilt of his weapon - into one of their faces while the other ended up being kneed incredibly hard. They both collapsed silently in a head and with a look of disgust, he re-sheathed his weapon.

(I hate it when they do that,) he grumbled to himself, well aware that the other voice would reply.

((Well, they just don't ever learn, do they?))

Shaking his head, he exited the platform and caught sight of the rest of the group. The woman was by a giant mechanism that served as the door, which was obviously secured tightly, and she fiddled with the control panel on its right. As he approached them, one of the members turned around curiously.

"Hey, we never got around to your backgrounds," he said conversationally. "What's your name again?"

((I can't believe that they accepted you and they didn't even catch your name,)) was the displeased snort as he smiled just slightly as the voice sulked in indignation; if that was even possible.

"It's Daisuke," he replied.

"Okay then; I'm Biggs, he's Wedge and that's Jessie."

"Got it." ((Of course, you already knew that…))

"But hey," Wedge, a short-pudgy-ish man, blinked and turned as well, looking apprehensive, "Weren't you from SOLDIER?"

"SOLDIER?" barked another voice unexpectedly from their right, "I don't trust him then."

An elite force that fought and trained within Shinra's boundaries, SOLDIER was the 'hit force' of the company and usually caused the most pain in the smaller resistance groups. They usually had no mercy or sense of humanity, and that was just the beginning.

The speaker was a tall male with tanned skin and golden-mixed-with-brown hair that looked rather unnatural in the end. Yet where his right hand used to be had been replaced by a large gun, which only made one wonder what had happened. He glared at Daisuke mistrustfully through pale silver-amethyst eyes, but the woman – Jessie – corrected them.

"He USED to be from SOLDIER, true," she agreed, "But he broke strings with them ages ago. So he's pretty much one of us now."

((Smart lady; I'll give her credit for that.))

(Hush.)

There was a small beeping noise and Jessie laughed lightly in triumph as the security gate slid open. Running ahead with Wedge and Biggs, the redhead was about to follow, but stopped when the other – the speaker who was still glaring at him – blocked his way.

"Don't think about playing around while you're here," he muttered softly, meeting his eyes, "Because I really don't trust you."

"Alright," he shrugged at this and got a sharp jerk of a nod in return, (Gee… what an attitude crisis. What was his name again?)

((Argentine, wasn't it?))

(Right. Thanks Dark.)

((No prob.))

Glancing up at the forbidding building that shot out dark clouds of poisonous gas, Daisuke shook his head and entered.

AVALANCHE's first target?

Mako Reactor number one.

---

Threading through the machinery that made most of the open grounds, it wasn't hard to avoid the monsters and guards that prowled the area. Watching them impassively, Daisuke ignored the voice in his mind who was currently making random comments to the monsters below, but seeing as they couldn't hear them, there was nothing to be done about it.

Running a hand through his hair, which was in that oh-so strange way of being spiky-like, the redhead glanced around and found a safer path to avoid the creatures that seemed to bounce around the place dangerously, waiting for someone to stick a leg out so that they could bite it. That being the guard dogs, anyway. The shinra soldiers couldn't fight to save their life; as so proved just a few moments back.

The reactor was a large piece of metal, all in all, and wasn't all that great to look at, but it was obvious the sort of attraction for depression and no longer wanting to hope for anything, so it was all good in the end and the team were about to blow it into kingdom come anyway.

A sort of wavering and stifling heat hit him as soon as the doors to the actual reactor slid open and he caught sight of the rest of the team already running onwards. Why they were so enthusiastic on the idea of destroying another one of Shinra's life-sucking machines, he had no idea, but it wasn't like he was about to do anything about it anyway. He was hired to do his job here, so he had no opinion on the matter. At least he was being paid well for this.

The interior of the reactor wasn't as complex as one would have thought, but a lot of metal, ladders, and steps seemed to be the idea of the day when the workers and builders made this place into a reality. A horrible, giant, grey-coloured-building reality.

It was deserted – thanks to the prowling guards all outside that would keep meddlesome children out and only children – yet he could hear the faint whirl of machine-driven mechanisms coming to life. If they had to face anything in a fight, it would be them.

Daisuke shook his head slightly at the thought and jogged off after the others. Passing through the lage main room, which seemed to have an emergency exit, he took the right path and entered through the door. The next room he came upon was less humid and he slowed down when he noticed that AVALANCHE seemed to be working on hacking through another security system.

((We could've had that open in a second,)) snorted Dark loudly.

(We won't get extra pay for that though,) Daisuke shot back. (So we leave them to do all the hard work.)

There was a snort and a sigh, and he could almost visualise the owner of the voice rolling over in a sulk, ((They're incompetence is just so damn trying on my patience, that's all.))

Not commenting, yet still sympathising with the irritation of the situation, Daisuke turned his attention back as Jesse messed with the lock without much progress.

"So you, Jessie, and Daisuke are going on ahead," clarified Biggs as he watched over Jessie's shoulder and frowning slightly.

Argentine nodded once, "You and Wedge will be keeping an eye out for any guards that might get in the way while we're down there."

"Just leave it to us then," Wedge saluted vaguely and then went back to an at-ease position before turning to face the redhead. "You know what we're doing exactly then?"

Of course he did; he had been given the briefing by Jessie before they'd gone on the train, "We're going to blow up the reactor."

"Yeah, but there are guards around here--"

"Like you should know," finished Argentine stiffly, giving the redhead a sharp, mistrustful glance and then turning away as Jessie finally cracked the code and the door allowed them access.

"Argentine, you have to stop being so mistrustful," Biggs said calmly, "Daisuke's one of us now, when you think about it."

"I'm a mercenary." ((I'm a mercenary.)) Both Daisuke and Dark said at the same time, correcting them.

"So if you were paid triple from Shinra, you'd work for them, wouldn't you?" barked Argentine, eyes narrowing to slits.

The redhead was spared from answering such a question as the door finally opened and allowed them access and Jessie pulled on Argentine's arm to get him to move on. Daisuke couldn't help but just stand there for a moment with a grimace hovering across his face.

(Is that what they think we are…?)

((Want me to come out and teach them a lesson they will never forget?)) Offered Dark, once more showing that he wasn't about to fall asleep anytime soon, no matter what was said.

(I really don't think that that's necessary, Dark. they probably thought that all along… but they needed the help,) at this, there was a flicker of faint amusement on his features as he walked over to where the team now watched Biggs wrestling with another security-measured door. He didn't take as long as Jessie and it wasn't long before he was being beckoned into an elevator, while Biggs and Wedge waited just outside. They were wary, looking around them every few seconds, as if waiting for something intensely evil to pop out, but it was actually quite peaceful.

There was the sound of a bell going off and the doors to the elevator slid shut smoothly, cutting off the light supply from the room before. The boxed mechanism had only a dark-greenish-blue light to shine over them and it wasn't the most pleasant of experiences as they felt it shudder downwards; further into the reactor and towards its core.

Shifting on his feet and leaning against one of its corners, Argentine continued to throw randomly-placed glares at Daisuke once in a while, but chose to say nothing. Jessie was working the elevator and seemed intent on keeping the peace – and death quiet-ness – and the redhead continued to hold a conversation with the voice in his head; the one he called Dark.

(But how hard can it be, anyway? I mean, it's just one little thing--)

((With a giant explosion following after it,)) agreed Dark readily, ((maybe they just want to avoid getting hurt too badly, you know. And if not, you can always be used as a scapegoat.))

He frowned at this, (That's… nice to know…)

((Isn't it?))

"Hey."

"Huh?" Daisuke snapped his head upwards and his eyes met with that of Argentine's. There was still the spark of mistrust that had been floating around those silver-amethyst irises since their first meeting, but there seemed to be… something else hovering there. Who knew what it was.

"It's obvious that we'll have to work together to get this place down," the brunette said slowly, "so I'm going to give you one chance. Mess it up and…" He held up his gun arm as the sentence trailed off, but Daisuke got the picture. Yet he couldn't stop the smirk.

"You don't have to trust me. You just have to make sure that I don't end up becoming a backstabber," he touched the hilt of his sword lightly and then smiled, "But even in SOLDIER they never said to be so… dishonorable."

Argentine made a face at this, but didn't say anything as the elevator jerked to a halt and the doors opened, allowing them to exit. Shooting Daisuke a wary glance that seemed half-exasperated, Jessie ran on ahead and they fell into a sort of staring contest that was broken off at the sounds of machinery tinkering about.

"You've got attitude. I'll give you that."

This seemed to be the only basis of agreement that meant that, for once, the redhead was accepted into the team without as much mistrust as there had been before. And Argentine hadn't even seen him fight yet.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Daisuke couldn't help but smile.

000

And that's chapter one; intros, the situation kinda and yeah. Fighting scenes are all adjusted to some form of reality and yeah, Dark is in Daisuke, which means all the fun for the former Phantom Thief. Uh… yeah.

Review please? I know this is probably unorthodox, but I'd love to hear what you people think of this.

neko-nya: Yeah, I just keep doing that, huh? And not finishing anything else. XO yup, confuzzling to the point of wacky insanity XD but it'll (hopefully) make sense in the end. If not… well… (shrugs) W00t font :D Great way to pass time.

chrnoskitty: Yeah, the idea has actually been with me for… a year! o.O I didn't know that. But I've changed the main plotline since then, and you get a basic idea on who the charaters are from the pic XD Thanks and hope you'll be back for more :P


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimers: FFVII and DNAngel are legal properties to the owners and companies, so I'm filching off them.

000

Chapter Two:

If there was one thing more annoying than thinking about how long it would take to walk down a couple of flights of stairs; then their nightmares had become reality, as Daisuke looked down to where they would have to walk approximately three flights of stairs… each with about one-hundred steps for the separate flight. Ooh yeah, he wasn't looking forward to this particular exercise.

Argentine seemed to be thinking along this same wavelength, as he looked down the railing, which revealed to them a bone-shattering drop, and then turned back to the mercenary redhead. Somewhere down there Jessie was a mere dot, sprinting away like there was no tomorrow.

"The people who built these reactors were insane," he stated flatly, shaking his head just once before moving towards the steps. The sound of his boots hitting the metal surface echoed eerily over the hiss of released smoke and gas, and, after a moment's hesitation, Daisuke followed.

It wasn't that he was scared or afraid of what might happen, nor did he care if he was caught out with the rest of AVALANCHE; he had long since gone past caring about such trivial matters. Yet there was something else hovering around his senses and it was making him paranoid. He couldn't pinpoint it and it was annoying the hell out of him to no end.

Then again, it might have just been Dark saying some random comment once more; he did that quite a lot when they were working for some group for money.

But what was Dark, exactly?

There was no real explanation for his existence; at least, Daisuke didn't know anything about his 'other half' of 'alter ego', as so claimed. His mother, Emiko, had made it bluntly obvious that Dark was a 'part' of him, and always would be, blah blah blah… Yes, Daisuke's mind had wandered off somewhere there, and believed that anything else said after that wasn't worth his time listening to.

But Dark was more of an art thief, or, at least, that was what the redhead heard. But there was no art to steal; not anymore. They had all been destroyed and banished to someplace or another, but no one would expand on the explanation.

Dark had been part of Daisuke's existence since the redhead was fourteen.

He was now nineteen.

Oh joy; about five years arguing with one's other side – their shadow, if you will – and yet, at the same time, they had become something along the lines of actually understanding one another and all that other junk that people believed in. it was a matter of trust; as well as who controlled who at what time agreement. It was a trying process at times.

Clattering down the many flights of stairs, when they eventually did reach the bottom floor, both Daisuke and Argentine would have to agree – although not out loud – that they had had enough exercise for a good few years of their life. Not to mention the fact that they were going to have to run UP them as well… ah yes, life is incredibly cruel at times.

Wheezing, the brunette was the first to try and stumble towards the door, "We don't have all day… and I thought that you were used to such strenuous work."

Indeed, Daisuke was in a slightly better physical condition, but it hadn't helped as he and Dark had been arguing about the meaning behind a word all the way down, and mental arguing did take up a lot of energy. "I have my reasons behind it."

"Whatever," turning on the heel of his boot, Argentine – having recovered sufficiently – marched onwards, but the door didn't slide open on it's will and he kicked it; hard. "Dammit!"

((Wow… he's such a calm and composed leader,)) sniggered Dark.

(I'll say,) agreed his host, and they watched as the door finally slid open – with a new dent, might I add – and they passed through behind a fuming Argentine. Oh yeah, he was not happy at all. Jessie, who had been waiting for them, frowned due to the fact that she believed that they had taken too long, and then ran on ahead once more. Argentine grumbled something under his breath before following her direct pathway and slid down a ladder quickly.

Daisuke, being himself, couldn't help but truly believe that the people who had made this place had some sort of metal-pipes-ladders-staircases fetish of some sort, and that was sort of creepy. True, reactors were made of metal and whatever, but the builders had really overdone it this time with the ladders etc, etc… not a pretty thought at all.

Sliding down and landing on a metal grating with a dull thud, he caught sight of Jessie keeping an eye out by a large pipe-like structure while Argentine was still ahead, climbing down another ladder and onto some larger pipes that looked sort of dangerous. They were the sort that people could walk on, but it might end up too slippery and then they would fall to their doom.

But as it was, that was the only way they could go and, after having Dark singing in his ear for some reason, the redhead moved after his 'employer-paying-something-or-other' dude and when they reached the final landing where the reactor was located, he had a nagging voice in his head; telling him that never, ever again would he want to see another one of these reactors.

Smoke billowed out far above their heads and the head was really beginning to get to him, but what were they to do? Moving steadily, they approached the large thing whatsit, but Argentine suddenly stopped, stooped, and then threw something in Daisuke's direction. He caught it, nonplussed, but the brunette didn't say anything and walked towards the reactor once more.

Perplexed, the redhead looked at the spherical green-rock-thing and could identify it for what it was instantly: materia. A magical substance that could be used in battle and the like, but why had Argentine handed it over to him? He shrugged the question off, deciding that it was just was safekeeping until the deed was done. The Buster Sword strapped across his back had slots in the blade, with already two of these gems jammed into them. He slipped this new one into his pocket and moved forwards as well.

"Well, there you have it," the brunette muttered, waving a hand towards the giant contraption that was billowing out white smoke-gas-stuff as well. "Go and plant the bomb, will you?"

Daisuke raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you the leader? Shouldn't you be the one to set the bomb?"

"Just do it!" came the barked reply.

((I suppose we don't have much of a choice then, do we?)) Dark didn't seem all that happy with the decision, but, like the redhead, couldn't really see anyway around it. And they were being paid for it in the end… hey…

(Do you think it's because he can't do it himself?) Daisuke suggested innocently, and his alter ego sniggered.

((More than likely. Well, let's just get this show on the road.))

"Fine," he said out loud, and took a step forward.

But as he did so, the world seemed to tip right under him and everything slid out of focus. Not knowing whether to panic or not, a rising sound hit the redhead and he clutched his head, grimacing.

"Don't do it…" 

A voice he couldn't recognise bounced through his head as everything around him flittered across his vision, not giving him anytime to comprehend what was going on. Sure, he had Dark and all, making him stuck with a voice constantly, but that was now more of a comfort than… this; something wasn't right about it and sent shivers down his spine. Bad vibes.

"… _it's a trap! There's an alarm attached to it."_

Okay, sure, he was being given a warning, but that didn't change anything. He was paid to do this, and there was no stopping him. But before he could send this back through his mind, the noise stopped like it had never began. Argentine was standing by the reactor, waiting impatiently, like nothing had happened at all.

(Dark?)

((Yeah?))

(Did you… hear that… just then…?)

((Hear what?))

Damn, he hadn't heard it?

(No, it's nothing.) Heading towards the reactor, Daisuke shot Argentine a passing glance before focusing all his attention on the piece of machinery before him. As they were just placing a time bomb on it, it wasn't all that hard to adjust as such, but as soon as he had finished doing so and got up, there was a loud roaring sound of an alarm going off.

"Crap, I should have known," Argentine snapped distastefully, holding up his gun arm. The sound of something large and mechanical heading in their direction was very hard to ignore, that was for sure. "Guards."

((No kidding; he actually managed to work that out?)) Dark asked sarcastically.

(Let's not start another insult match with him; he doesn't even know you exist,) Daisuke reminded him calmly, (Although sometimes I can be glad of it, considering what your first impression was…)

((But it was true! All of it!))

(Yeah, I know.)

As Dark continued to mutter in the back of his mind, the redhead pulled out his really, really large Buster Sword and watched as the giant machine-contraption approached them. It was an odd thing in itself; shaped like a scorpion as such, and thriving with more energy than what one would have expected. Definitely dangerous, but something they could handle.

"What the hell…" muttered the brunette next to him.

"Guard Scorpion," Daisuke explained, as the machine made its way down the thin pathway and blocked all thoughts of escape, "A mechanism used to, obviously, guard the reactor. Once the place of breached, well, you see."

"Of course I see. So let's just turn it into scrap metal." There was a sharp click and the gun attached to his arm whirled.

"Be careful, though," warned the redhead, bracing himself for a jump, "it's dangerous."

"Like I couldn't work that out myself?" came the snapped reply.

((Wow, touchy. If he dies, we can say 'I told you so', right?))

(I suppose.)

Whatever else that was being said was clearly forgotten as the machine suddenly shot a dark yellow beam at them. The following, mechanical voice, intone something about scanning, and Daisuke's eyes narrowed. The fact that it had been aimed at Argentine said a lot about its attacking patterns now, but at least it would give them a better chance in attacking it and destroying it before it actually did some semblance of damage.

Focusing his attention on the small green material slotted into his weapon, the redhead cast a sharp 'bolt' spell which careened the machine off center. Like ever other machine-type-creature, it was completely vulnerable to lightning spells.

"Out of the way!" bellowed Argentine and the redhead dodged to the side as a rain of bullets flew by overhead.

((Hey, that was uncalled for!))

(Well, you do know that we're fighting the same thing.)

((And lucky you have reflexes at all; he could have killed you.))

(Don't I know it?)

He rolled out of the way as a line of bullets came flying from the monster's direction and there was the sharp sound of Argentine's growl, which could either indicate that he was hit or that it had barely missed. The redhead could almost see Dark crossing his fingers in hope of the brunette being hit.

(You're a sadist.)

((No. I just don't like him.))

With a sigh, Daisuke cast another spell, keeping an eye out in case the Scorpion decided to change it's mind and attack him instead, which Argentine did all the physical attacking, although he didn't look all that happy. Must have something to do with being the target, but who actually cared at the moment?

Another laser beam shot out and hit the steel floor, shaking the entire foundation. Fighting to keep up, Daisuke grabbed at the railing before him and glanced at Argentine, who, as expected, didn't look all that happy at all. Not that he was really expecting all that much else; when did he ever seem happy during their few hours of trying to work together and doing something? Not like they were going to get all that far.

"Processing information…" a mechanical voice beeped. "Access granted. Filter one, open."

"What the hell?" the brunette gaped soundlessly as the scorpion tail attached to it rose over its head. "What's it doing?"

The redhead stared at it, thinking back on his training and trying to dig up a memory on monsters and the sort of machines they used to guard the actual reactors in each sector. Eventually it came to him, and luckily for the both of them, this particular action would have them safe… unless… well…

"It's a sort of safety mechanism," he explained, "The thing is you don't attack, otherwise it will counter attack with a laser-beam. Other than that, it's just going to sit there."

"I see…"

They both watched the machine cautiously, as if it was about to pounce of them, but it merely stayed there like an inanimate object until it began to shake and the tale curled back. Taking this as a cue to continue attacking, Argentine went with a will as Daisuke started another spell.

((How does that guy shove bullets into that thing, anyway?)) Dark couldn't help but ask, ((Does he eat bullets or something?))

(You know Dark, this isn't exactly the best time to be asking such a question,) Daisuke said as he was forced to jump out of the way once more before casting another spell. (I was hoping this thing would just short-circuit already; it's getting on my nerves.)

((Then let me deal with it!))

That was just his excuse to get out and run amok again. The redhead shuddered at one of his many memories where Dark had decided to make a fool of himself. It wasn't all that fun, being the victim.

(It's okay. I've got it.) Just as these words left his mind to hit other, the scorpion gave a rather loud blast like a wire blowing up and the whole thing collapsed into a heap of steel. Right in their way, but at least it had finally been dealt with. And while Daisuke had been arguing with the voice in his head, he had failed to come to terms that he had been shooting spells at the monster itself. And again, Argentine did not look happy.

Grabbing something from the rubble, he climbed over it and jumped down to the other end before bellowing, "What are you, stupid! This place is set to go down in ten minutes! Move it!"

"I think I know that already," mumbled the redhead, as he climbed deftly over the pile and followed the brunette back up the way they had come from, "I was the one who set it."

((It's just his way of saying 'let's not get fried'.))

(Uh-huh… right.) The sword was still in his hand as he knew that the machine monsters would now be in definite chaos but, pushing that aside, he wondered why he even cared. Dark might have been able to provide the answer, but he wasn't about to ask that question. What was the point? Swinging right back into reality, he followed after Argentine.

000

Comments, thoughts and constructive criticism is welcome.

neko-nya: Pretty font and going on about it to your friends XD Yeah, the rest of the AVALANCHE team are short lived characters :O I haven't exactly played it recently either… XD


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimers: FFVII and DNAngel are legal properties to the owners and companies, so I'm filching off them.

000

Chapter Three:

Thankful of the tough SOLDIER regime that he had once been forced to go through – accompanied by his dear mother's thieving training – Daisuke found it much easier to avoid the monsters and their bullets rather then trying to fight them. Of course, Argentine didn't have that sort of training under his belt, and as mercenaries were paid, the redhead was forced to go and stay back to help the guy get out of the tighter corners of battle.

((C'mon…)) Dark began with a whine, ((I wanna run around a bit. And ten minutes is nothing. We could get out of here in less than half.))

(…) well, he had a point there, but it didn't make it all that reassuring in the end. (Well… as long as you decide not to sit around until the exact last second it should be okay…)

((Yeah!)) The thief agreed forcefully, seeing that he was getting the better half of the argument, ((And I haven't been out for ages! So be a pal and stop being such an asshole to me!))

(We're the same person; you know that you're calling yourself an asshole,) Daisuke stifled a sigh at his alter ego's rather random perspective of things, (Okay, okay, you can run amok and ruin my life again.)

Red hair shimmered slightly as it grew longer and turned into a shade of very dark purple, and ruby eyes flickered into amethyst as Dark took over, grinning, ((But doesn't that mean I ruin my life as well?))

(We're the same person! Don't try to use unspeakable logic on me!)

"I have logic?"

(Somehow, I doubt it.)

"Hey!"

Slashing at a machine drone that got in his way, Dark turned around to see a very frozen-in-the-spot-and-in-shock Argentine. The grin never faded because, in all honesty, it was highly comical to see the angry, problematic adult stuck in a stat of such shock, and the thief waved a hand in front of his face. "You still alive in there, old man?"

The brunette snapped back into reality quite hard; and with quite a temper, "I'm not old, you maniac! And who the hell are you and what the fuck happened to Niwa?"

"My, you're very polite," commented Dark, ignoring Daisuke's (You tend to be more profound) reminder and stuck a very random yet fancy pose before hitting another monster behind him, "And I am Daisuke. His other half, so unless you want to stand here and make introductions while a reactor's about to blow off, I'll be happy to oblige."

Scowling, Argentine chose to say nothing at all and ran back ahead, although it was clear that he was at a loss on what to say when a redheaded mercenary kid changes into a scary older purple-haired… weirdo. And what a weirdo, at that. Man, he had to stop allowing Jessie to deal with the people they hired.

Climbing up the ladder swiftly, Dark's eyes caught sight of Jessie, who had been keeping guard this whole time. She was bent double, clutching at her foot and didn't seem to be moving. As Argentine ran ahead, not paying any attention at all, the thief approached her coolly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"My foot's caught," she mumbled back, not looking up to face him. Bending down, the purple-haired teen untangled her foot from the iron mesh-like-substance-whatever and she stood up, "Thanks--" she froze as she finally faced him and gaped. "Oh… my… god…" it was obvious to see what sorts of thoughts were currently running through her head.

But Dark was spared from hearing it all as their leader poked his head out from where the lift was located and bellowed, "If you don't want to be left behind, then move your ass!"

Tipping the surprised woman a wink, the thief ran up to the lift and entered, and Jessie was right behind him; shocked or not, she wasn't stupid enough to stand there in a dream-like state when the entire building was soon to collapse. The doors slid shut smoothly and Argentine pressed the button that would send them back up.

As they waited, no one said a word; although Jessie looked keen on finding out who the new guy was. Or… something. When she'd given the redhead the interview, there was no mention of hot purple-haired guys in the picture… wait, where was Daisuke then?

Again, she would have asked, but she knew that Argentine would never abandon anyone working for them, so unless the redhead managed to get himself killed… nah, that wasn't an option.

Wait… wouldn't that mean that the cute redhead and this guy… what!

She was snapped out of her thinking state as someone hit her over the head, hard. And she knew who it was the moment their hand connected to the back of her skull. Wincing, she rubbed the spot and shot a frown at Argentine, just as the lift doors opened to them and revealed Biggs and Wedge, both of whom had been fidgeting and most definitely worrying about their co-workers.

Like Jessie, though, they gaped when they caught sight of Dark, who just smirked at them in reply. He loved confusing people, and this was just pure gold in his opinion. Oh sure, he knew one other person that was better than that, but that wasn't the point at the moment.

"Move!" barked the angry brunette behind him, and everyone scattered back into place. Jessie decoded the door as both Dark and Argentine dealt with some monsters that were currently floating around.

"We've only got three minutes left," Wedge informed them, staring at an odd contraption strapped around his wrist as Biggs ran over to deal with the next locked door. If it had been any other group, they might have been dancing in panic already, but being professional bomb-making-Shinra-hating-people, this was all just part of the package.

Edging backwards carefully, Dark and Argentine's eyes met briefly as they bolted off behind the rest of the group, acting as a rearguard. The sound of explosions was a clear indication that they were beginning to set the actual detonator off and it only meant one thing; they were out of time. Sprinting off, they turned a corner to the emergency exit that Daisuke had seen before when entering.

Jessie cursed slightly as she tripped, but both Dark and Argentine grabbed her by the arm and set her up and all three ran out, just as the explosions hit full force. Fire raged as the reactor itself collapsed and everywhere there was chaos.

000

In the center of Midgar, the sad town polluted by the mako fumes, the president of Shina corp. watched impassively as one of his many sector reactors was blown to pieces.

He didn't need a genius to work out who had done the horrible deed.

"AVALANCHE…"

000

The air pressure had built up with the explosion and the members of said rebel group were all thrown out forcefully, just as the flames reached out for them.

Performing a simple summersault and landing neatly on his feet, Dark turned around and watched with amusement as most of the others were thrown to the group. Wedge was running around in circles soon after trying to deal with some fire that had caught on his bandanna.

Brushing himself off, Argentine was right back to being his barking, unhappily normal self as everyone else picked themselves up.

"Good job, everyone," he said, one of the few praises he actually allowed himself to say. "Now meet at the sector 8 station in ten minutes. Go your own way so no one becomes suspicious. Move out!"

Everyone, including Dark, saluted in reply and they left, jumping over fences and the like. The purple-haired teen, on the other hand, lingered back for a moment and looked back at the door, now completely engulfed by flames.

(Dark… you okay?)

((Just fine. Really.))

In the depths of his mind, Daisuke saw through his alter ego's eyes and a vague memory flashed past him. In surprise, the redhead reeled back. (Are you… absolutely sure?)

((Better than you.)) there was the sound of alarms going off, ((We better go.))

Daisuke nodded the affirmative and Dark left the place. Walking up a set of stairs with railing that looked ready to come off as soon as someone touched it, there wasn't all that much else to see. Dilapidated buildings made up a good half of the place, and everything was in a dreary grey colour. Not all that nice to see, but it might have something to do with the pollution that constantly misted the area.

Midgar was a large city-like-town-but not, consisting of a large building overwhelming the small slums beneath. Each sector had their own mako reactor; life-sucking machines that took everything from the earth and never gave anything in return.

People were running around the rubble streets, cars stuck in a sort of traffic-like-proportion yet never looked like it moved at all in the first place. As the purple-haired thief walked past a couple of people, he watched as a blonde girl was pushed to the ground, clutching a basket close to her.

Not bothering to apologise, the children who had knocker her over ran off, yelling and making up their own reason as to how the reactor had blown up. Dark shot them a glare and they scuttled off.

The girl had long, blonde hair done in a high plait, a pink ribbon holding it in place. She wore a simple, homespun looking pink dress and a red coat. Brushing herself off calmly, it was clear that she was used to rough life of the area, and it surprised the thief quite a bit; she looked too delicate to be used to such coarse living.

He walked past her, but catching sight of him, the girl approached him. "Did something happen?" she asked curiously.

"No, not really," he replied smoothly, turning to face her. Amethyst eyes met serene blue. "So what's up?"

(Dark! Don't tell me you're going to hit on her!) shrieked Daisuke, but he was pointedly ignored.

"Oh, nothing much, besides what we just saw then," the girl replied, before holding up a basket, "Do you know who might have been behind the bombing?"

"Rebels, I suspect. Nothing that the guards can't handle."

"Ah… I see…," she seemed to think for a moment before going back to business, "Would you like to buy some flowers?"

Peering into the basket, Dark raised an eyebrow at the vivid colours that seemed to stream out of the dull wickerwork, "How did you manage to get these things?" Not much of a plant lover anyway, he was confused on how anyone could sell such bright things in such a dull area.

"I grow them," the flower girl replied simply, "they're only one gil."

"Well…" ((Risa would like it, wouldn't she?))

(I suppose…) admitted the redhead, who had favoured a small crush on said girl a number of years back. Then she'd shot him down, so… they were still friends, but whatever.

"Okay," giving the girl a prize-winning smirk that made Daisuke want to roll his eyes, Dark passed over the money and was given a very pretty cerulean petalled flower. Nodding her thanks, she left without another word.

Dark stared at the flower in his hand.

((Hey, you know what this colour reminds me of?))

(Let's not talk about it. And I could very much say the same thing about who that girl reminded you of…)

((Oh, shut up, Dai-chan.))

Shoving the flower away in a safe place, the thief walked off, looping off to find a better way to get into the train station without being noticed by the guards. Not that it would be all that hard, seeing as he didn't look like Daisuke at all, but you never knew until it happened.

Electric currents shot by overhead, cackling madly as reporters and police ran around the place. Past him and pushing residents out of the way without as much as a warning. But the residents didn't seem to care the least; they seemed to be in a state of shock that couldn't be dealt with anytime soon at just the fact that anyone would attempt to blow up such a huge… thing. And the fact that they had succeeded was all that was needed to stick them in a frozen mode that the magic 'stop' would have been proud of.

Walking off with a confidence that he always had due to his big ego, Dark walked past it all. And since no one stopped to question him or challenge him, thanks to the buster sword strapped to his back, it wasn't long before he reached more deserted streets, very close to the train station itself.

((That was way too easy,)) he told his host, just as a shout made him turn around again. With a scowl, he cursed under his breath; shinra soldiers. Unlike the police, these people were fully equipped and trained to take down any rebels, even if they weren't.

(We should have known this would happen.) Daisuke muttered, although he didn't seem all that scared of what was going on, (If we time this right, we should be fine.)

((You're getting better every day,)) smirked Dark.

(I learn from the best.)

((Me?))

(Who else? But don't let your ego get any bigger.)

((You can be so cruel, you know.))

(So can you.)

"You're trespassing here!" yelled one of the two guards, both of their machine guns held out and pointing directly at Dark.

"Am I?" shaking his head and grinning at their stupidity, the thief ran down the street, ignoring the bullets that were being shot at him. He was about to turn a corner, when another two soldiers blocked his pathway. ((Damn, they must have called for reinforcements sometime…))

"Halt!"

Spinning around again, Dark was about to tear off in the opposite direction, but he only got halfway there before three more guards hit the scene. Slowly, he backed away, glancing around to see if there was any other place to go.

"You can't escape now."

Guns were pointing at him from all directions, save one. That was only due to the fact that his back was pressed against it, but the little bird in his head informed him that it was the bridge railing to where the tunnel was located for the train: the one they were going to board, nevertheless; to the sector 7 slums.

"I can't escape?" Dark asked, smirking, biding for time, "Do you people know who I am?"

He didn't get a straight answer for this, and his sharp hearing pinpointed the coming of a train. Still smirking, he proclaimed his title to the slow and baffled group of soldiers.

"I'm the famous Phantom Thief Dark!"

With that, he flipped back against the railing and leapt off, landing on the roof of the train carriages. Upon hearing this, the guards tried to shoot at him, but the train sped by too fast for them to aim. The wind cut past them like a knife and Dark laughed at their stupidity.

((God, I love taunting them and messing with their minds.))

(You always have and always will,) agreed Daisuke, smiling at his alter ego, (We better get in before you lose your grip or something.)

((Who do you take me for?)) Dark asked with a stab of righteous anger as the redhead laughed at his indignation, but did as he was told. It was kind of cold out there, anyway. He couldn't help but admit that.

Ah well, mission one; complete.

000

XD and thus the first mission is complete… so there will be a gag page after this one… if I remember to do it. You'll see. Comments and the like are very much welcome.

neko-nya: KABOOM, the place blew up and no one died for one reason or another XD it was great to run around like that. Ten minutes… it's not really hard in the game…

chrnoskitty: aah… it's okay. As long as you're reading it in the end :D And I'm not telling you their roles; it'll ruin the surprise XD Yeah, I once left her behind to see what happened, but had to go back anyway. The strategy guide only allows you to go so far… (pokes finger at it) They never tell you that you can get two ribbons…

sqiferfan: Aw… thanks :D I'm glad you liked how I'm trying to fit them into the story. I'm hoping that the rest of the characters can slide in without much problem as well. Thanks so much for the comments XD


	5. Gag One: Letter from Cloud

Disclaimers: FFVII and DNAngel are legal properties to the owners and companies, so I'm filching off them.

Notes: This is based on the original FFVII characters, but the ideas the same. Done after the mention of letter-writing, the world plagued by monsters, and how dangerous it must have been for the postmen.

000

Gag One: Letter from Cloud

Dear mum (despite the fact that you've been dead for many years),

How've you been? I mean, I know it's a rather stupid question to ask, seeing as you ARE dead and there isn't much that's about to happen. I mean, it's been a long time already since I've been home, and I'm still not home, and that's why I'm writing this letter to you? Why? Because there's nothing else to do where I am and I'm bored out of my mind.

Swing, swing, swing… honestly, there's nothing to write.

Okay, how about I start from the top then?

After the fiasco at Shinra and me dropping out (I never told you that, did I?) I had to go and search for another job. Seeing as I was in Midgar and all, I thought it would be nice to wander around the dank, dreary god-forbidden place. I mean, it's so depressing. Not like home as well knew it, mum. I mean, sure, it was surrounded by mountains and monsters lurked around, but we had each other and the townspeople. Here… everyone's just afraid. Or poisoned, I don't know which.

Anyway, what was I going on about? Oh right, what's happening now. So I ended up seeing a notice about some rebel group, or did I run into them? I can't remember. But anyway, I ended up working for them for a good bit of money. So yeah, I'm a mercenary. Don't frown, it's better than being a lackey for SOLDIER anyway; you told me yourself.

I don't know why I cared so much, I mean, aside from wanting to kick Shinra where it hurt the most, I felt like I had to do something. Just knowing and seeing how much pain Midgar was in just… made me do that. And that constant referral to me being like dad doesn't help, either.

The reactor was huge. And full of machines. Lots of smoke. Something like running around in the clouds… except these were really… well, not evil, but not all that nice either. It might have been the scenery though. Such a horrible place; I usually don't step into these areas.

But we blew up the place and had to run. So yeah, now I'm on the train, watched the world pass by… not that there's much to see, but yeah.

Should I tell you about the group I'm working in? Okay, why not?

Well, the only girl here is Jessie; she seems to know what she's doing, doesn't take the situation lightly and is pretty decent (and no, she's not like Tifa…); then theres Biggs who seems rather… uhm… okay, I guess; Wedge looks like he could do with a but more exercise, but surprised me when he didn't get fried when the bomb went off; and then there's Barret. He's the leader of this little group (named AVALANCHE) and seriously, he annoys the hell out of me. He's always scowling and making snide remarks about me being in SOLDIER, and he has a gun for an arm. Very interesting… and I think he has some sort of mental issue…

Swing swing swing… why do those things keep swinging?

Well, not much else to say on that note. I was chased by some guards, had to jump off a bridge to get to the train and majorly kicked butt. I don't know what's about to happen, unless Barret attempts to read this letter before I can send it, and hope that you get this safely (unless the postman gets eaten on the way.)

Hope you're well (well, you're dead, but that's not the point), take care (not all that hard) and write back soon (not possible, but I'm hoping), I want to hear how home's like again (too long… just too long…)

Love you.

Your son, Cloud.

000

It's supposed to take a lighter note in the situation of the story. So… yeah. I might put this up on the FFVII section one day though… it'd be fun XD

neko-nya: Poor Risa… her reputation was ruined forever XD But she won't be as bad here… I'm considering on whether she should know about Dai/Dark being the same person… or go the oblivious way. Sato and Krad are definitely going to appear. It will take a long (long long long) time (sadly) but hopefully you can hang in there (hands candy and Dark and Krad plushie to pass the time). You're squabbling with your pudding… if you haven't eaten it yet, I'll take it XD

Angel Born of Darkness: Thanks. I'm trying to make updates more frequent… but it's not working…


	6. Chapter Four

Disclaimers: FFVII and DNAngel are legal properties to the owners and companies, so I'm filching off them.

000

Chapter Four:

"Daisuke never made it," mumbled Biggs into the silent carriage.

"Hmph," grunted Argentine, who was leaning against a huge crate full of who knew what. He was staring at the floor without much care as his team continued to talk amongst themselves.

"Maybe Shinra got at him," Wedge suggested, looking distraught. None of them really knew Daisuke, but he had been quite polite to all of them, so he was the sort that you got attached to.

"No way," Jessie shook her head briskly, frowning, "He wasn't that stupid to get himself caught. He must have missed the train though."

"Poor kid," Biggs added.

They all started when the door of the carriage slid open, but were in an even greater shock when a certain purple-clad-haired figure flipped himself into the storage car with ease. Landing on both feet gracefully, the person smirked at their faces.

"Who-" Jessie began.

"-the-" this time it was Wedge.

"-hell!" finished Biggs, who had fallen over in the shock. This resulted in him reeling into a box and was in a lot of pain. But unlike Argentine, he was about to start swearing and all the usual that the "boss" seemed to like to do.

Standing up and wiping his clothes down, Dark grinned at their stupefied reaction. The only person who had said nothing was Argentine, who was still glaring at the floor without moving at all. If it hadn't been for the train rattling and swaying, the brunette would have been exactly like a statue. "Don't know who I am then?"

(Dark… you're going to give them a heart attack one day,) the redhead muttered, hitting his head mentally as he watched what was going on, (And I think me taking over in front of them would really freak them out. What do we do?)

((Get them to clear off, that's what.)) the Thief grinned at them as they all continued to stare at him with the air of complete lost in their aura.

"You're the guy that saved me back at the reactor," Jessie started slowly, "And… uh… you're wearing the same clothes as Daisuke… so… ?" It seemed that she couldn't put two and two together at the moment, as she tried hard not to swoon too much in front of Dark.

"Friend or foe?" ventured Wedge.

Dark was still right at the opening of the storage car, which was quite dangerous in many perspectives, but he didn't seem to care. That and that fact that he and Daisuke had survived and had even come in with a flashy sort of entrance seemed to hit Argentine hard and he jerked his head up. He glared pointedly at the thief and mercenary before snapping out orders, which brought the group right back to attention. When Dark smirked right back, he felt like he was going to explode in anger.

"We're going to move into the main cars of the train," he barked sharply, "Move out!"

They hastened to obey his orders and he soon found himself alone with Dark. But when he was glaring at the three retreating figures, he heard the door slide shut, the loud rattling subsiding, and upon turning, was alone with Daisuke; who was looking innocently sheepish. Not that the brunette could blame him. They needed a long conversation soon.

"What the hell was with that?"

The redhead inclined his head innocently; that was, looking about as innocent as a nineteen-year-old former SOLDIER-first-class-now-mercenary could by standards in this incredibly cruel world, "What are you talking about?"

"That!" it was clear that Argentine was not playing around, but he was yet to resort into violence; he wasn't about to go _that _low.

((Maybe we should just tell him before he pops a vein or something,)) Dark muttered, watching with obvious interest, ((Or he might die from a heart attack; he looks old enough.))

That was lie, but Daisuke decided it was better to allow the Thief some slack to insult the people he met otherwise his raging rampages in public would be much worse. Besides, it wasn't like the brunette in front of him – who was glaring for that matter – could hear what Dark was saying, so no one was hurt and the thief was able to keep his sanity for that much longer.

(Probably should, although he'll probably think I'm just a nutcase or something,) he agreed readily, and Dark laughed.

((He witnessed it, so he must be as insane as us, okay? Now let's just get the news over with before I have to do it myself.))

The redhead grimaced, (Now that… doesn't sound like a good idea.)

((Fine, whatever.))

(Yeah.) Seeing that Argentine was still glaring at him after this little conversation, Daisuke couldn't help but smile disarmingly, "What do you think happened, then?" he shot back.

The brunette blinked at the question; not that he should have expected much else. This Niwa kid-teen-whatever was a strange one; like, how the heck did he get into SOLDIER: first class at that age? Like… what! It was kind of hard to believe. But that wasn't the point at the moment, so he let that thought drop for the time being.

"Well, that stupid-"

((Who's stupid!))

"-purple-haired guy appeared practically out of nowhere, and now you're back. What the hell is that supposed to be?"

((Who the hell is he calling stupid is my question!)) Dark yelled indignantly, ((C'mon, lemme out so I can teach him a lesson or hundred!))

(Calm down.) "I wouldn't call Dark an idiot, if I were you. Unlike me, he doesn't care who he slices up in the end," Daisuke said in a placate tone, smiling slightly as his alter ego yelled some other things to him, "And you might end up regretting it in the end."

((Damn straight!))

The older man raised an eyebrow, "Dark's his name?"

Dark gave a mock gasp, ((Oh my god, you actually managed to work that out? Good job… not!))

"Yeah. Haven't you ever heard of Kaitou Dark before?" (Are you sure that you're as famous as you claim you are?)

((Well, Dai-chan,)) the thief started slowly, ((Let's just say that Shinra corp. would know me quite well; I gave them hell a couple of times and all, you know, as for the poor folks who live in the slums, who knows?))

"Kaitou Dark?" repeated Argentine, "Probably heard him once or twice, can't remember. Wait… what does that matter?"

Seeing that the brunette wasn't catching on at the moment, Daisuke sighed; it looked like he would just have to go and plunge into the depths of confusion of his bloodline this time. Not that he really made a randomly public announcement about who he was – or was not – but seeing that Dark didn't seem to care the least anymore about who knew or not, it was best to do it as simple as possible.

"Okay, so you heard of him. He's a really famous thief who steals works of art but has been recently been causing hell for Shinra and all that," he started, the rattling of the train and the constant swaying of the carriage beginning to get a little annoying, "And that no one knows his identity… the usual stuff."

"Yeah. So what? No one probably notices him when he walks around, big deal."

((…)) Dark seemed ready to pop a vessel now.

"Actually, it would be kind of hard seeing as he had violet hair and all that," he corrected Argentine, "But that's besides the point. The fact is, he's a part of me, okay?"

The silence that followed after – that was, as silent as it could be with a train speeding towards its destination – was rather amusing, as Argentine seemed to be at a loss at what to say at this crazy, crazy explanation.

He pointed a finger at the boy, "You are Dark." he stated, just to make sure, and got a nod in return. "That's it, I'm never drinking again."

The thief decided to take over at this point, despite his host's protests, "What, you were drinking? What kind of example are you setting for the rest of the group?" he demanded shrewdly.

Argentine just shot him a scowl, "Shut up, blowing up an entire reactor and not getting caught by the guards is heavy business."

"So's stealing art with a homicidal maniac on your tail, but you don't see me complaining, now do you?" scoffed Dark imperiously.

(Dark… don't start digging a hole for yourself again. You might not be able to get yourself out this time.)

((I'm having fun here, come on.))

(No.)

"Shut up, freak," this was Argentine, who seemed to have gotten over his shock and was slowly piecing himself all back together. Daisuke took over again and the brunette just muttered something under his breath before say, "Get into the main carriages."

"Yeah…" wondering if the brunette was thinking that he had gone completely insane now, the redhead did as he was told without question and jumped over a couple of crates to where a door was located. Pulling it open, he was revealed with faded red, cheap plastic cushions with the rest of AVALANCHE located within it. He entered and turned to Biggs, who was lying on a seat and looking at the swinging hand-holding apparatus' that were placed there.

"Is this train empty or something?"

He turned his head to the speaker, "Well, hey there." He greeted lazily, obviously not caring about the redhead's sudden appearance, "Nah, they just all got scared off when we entered, so we get a car to ourselves. Great, isn't it?"

"I see…" he quickly stepped to the side as Argentine jumped through and stalked off to take a seat for himself as well. At this, Biggs levied himself up a bit with his elbow, "What's biting him?"

"Aside from the usual, I don't know."

"Ah well, I would have thought he would be a bit happier with a reactor blown up and all." He flopped back at this and fell silent, allowing Daisuke to wander off wherever he wished, but there wasn't much to see, really. They seemed to be zooming through a really long tunnel at the moment and Jessie and Wedge were at the other end, looking at a small green screen for some reason.

Deciding that there was nothing else he could do, the redhead walked up to ask what they were doing, but Argentine caught his attention as he walked past, "Hey, Niwa."

"Yeah?" maybe the brunette had finally lost it? It was a rather funny idea in itself, he had to admit.

"Look out there," he waved a hand blandly at the window, in which the train had gotten out of the tunnel; only to reveal a depressing, gas-polluted scenery. It was pathetically sad. "You see what Shinra have done? They're killed this part of the land and they don't give shit about it."

"I know," Daisuke nodded slowly.

"And they don't care, do they? Not at all, because they get all the money they want from it, and the greedy bastards couldn't give less for the citizens they're slowly poisoning to death," his eyes had narrowed dangerously at this as he continued, "Each sector in Midgar has a reactor, and each reactor is pumping the life out of the earth, and they don't give a shit." He seemed to trail off at this and acted like Daisuke didn't even exist.

Not being able to work out the reason for this righteous indignation he had just witnessed, the Niwa decided it was just his way to showing emotions and continued on the short journey to reach Jessie, who welcomed him happily; again, neither one showed surprise of his sudden reappearance. Did they already work it out or something? Or were all people this open-minded about stuff as such? Or did crazy things happen to them all the time and this wasn't any different?

Either way, he was ushered to take a look at the small green, computerized screen. "So what's this about?" he asked.

"It's pretty much a useful little device that explains the routes that each train takes," began Jessie helpfully, "You see, each platform is placed in each sector. There are nine sectors in all of Midgar, and each one has their own reactor."

He nodded, catching on.

"We got rid of the one in sector 8 thanks to you, so that leaves seven others," she grimaced and plunged onwards, "But it's a great start. But as we pass through each sector, the trains have an ID scanner, for violates and terrorists," she smiled vaguely at this, "So that why the team carries fake IDs."

As she finished this sentence, the car flashed green and Daisuke started. The brunette woman shook her head at this as the light faded, "We should be okay. They just checked us and seeing as there are no errors…" she suddenly became more hopeful, "I have to make you a special ID! How about it?"

He smiled at her enthusiasm, "I'm looking forward to it then." Would he still be around, though?

"Thanks! I'll give it some extra bang to it," she winked and then they returned to staring at the screen as it flashed to different blue prints of Midgar's underground routes.

Silence fell amongst the team, each in their own thoughts and wondering about what would become of them, or what their next move was going to be. It was clear that the fight was going to be a long one, and they weren't about to give up anytime soon; it seemed that Shinra would have a lot on their hands.

Daisuke sat on a seat on his own, listening to the train as it rattled on and Dark's snores. They were all pulled into their own separate thoughts, and it continued on until the train finally hit the brakes and screeched to a halt with a voice intoning, "Sector 7 slums. All passengers, we've reached the sector 7 slums."

Without saying a word to one another, they made the slow procession to the front of the train, as the platform didn't stretch out all that far. Glancing out, Daisuke caught sight of some abandoned trains to his left, but didn't say anything.

They piled out and the shinra guard who kept an eye around shut the door behind them yet paid them no attention whatsoever. A couple of other people who had been on board were walking off into the slums, some hand in hand with another. Family, or something.

The redhead couldn't help but notice that small pang of guilt, but he quickly shook it off as Argentine gave them some quick instructions. "We'll be meeting at the hideout; go your own way, you know, the usual. Now move out!"

Everyone around saluted and they split, although they were generally going the same way. The poisonous fumes were nauseating, but there was nothing that could be done about it. Tucking his hands into the pockets of his pants, Daisuke walked into the swirling depression-like-state of the slums below.

000

(can't think of anything to say to yeah) Read, review, helpful comments and the like are welcome XD

chrnoskitty: Oh, you're no crazy… (hint hint lol) Thanks for the comment!

neko-nya: Hm… her personality is just like that, isn't it? Ah well, it just can't be denied in the end ;D Oh, there's no point in writing to dead people; Cloud's just delusional.


	7. Chapter Five

Disclaimers: FFVII and DNAngel are legal properties to the owners and companies, so I'm filching off them.

000

Chapter Five:

Wending his way around the mess that seemed to clutter up the pathway, Daisuke could almost feel the depressed state this part of the land was in. Shinra had completely crushed whatever spirit that they had left, and there was no future for them. They were going to die here, and they knew it. It was so sad. The redhead sighed to himself, disturbing Dark slightly, who grumbled in reply.

(Sorry, did I wake you?)

((Ngh… zzzz…))

Taking that as a 'no', Daisuke continued on his slow trek back to the hideout. He hadn't been in there for a while now, as Jessie had talked to him outside of the place, but the noise had been quite alarming in terms of racket. That, at least, was a good way to distract people from thinking that a rebel group would reside in there. Then there was the fighting and the yelling and being told to shut up by the other residents… oh yes, it was quite fun and amusing in the end.

Gravel and dirt crunched under his boots as he walked moodily on; in a way he didn't want to go back. Maybe it was just the reality of how bad Shinra had become, or he just wanted some time to himself, he didn't know. But his attention was broken by a giant pillar that was soon lost from sight by the mist above. He approached the tall iron gates that had warning signs stuck on it. It looked rather run-down, but strong enough to keep rowdy children out of it, but at the same time it was incredibly forbidding and seemed to beckon people to climb up it for reasons unknown.

By the fence was a single child, who looked rather unkempt yet his clothes were quite clean. He brushed some dirt off his shorts and stared up at the redhead, who merely stared back. Running a hand through his hair, the child suddenly gave the ex-SOLDIER a grin, which surprised Daisuke for many reasons.

"Have you ever wondered what was up there?"

"Eh?" Daisuke blinked.

The boy gestured to the large pillar, "Up there is the actual city, isn't it? It's funny because up there it's all great with the lights and all, and it's not all polluted like it is here. Isn't that really funny, mister?"

"I guess…" the redhead looked up. It seemed to reach far beyond the sky, but it was hard to tell.

"But the even funnier part is the fact that is the pillar collapses, then everyone in this part of the slums gets crushed," he said this with a nonchalant air and waved a hand around, "I wonder why they do that to us…"

"How is being killed so funny?" frowned Daisuke.

"It's not, that's the irony in the end," he shrugged, "I mean, they don't even know we exist down here, and while they're living their lives away, here we are trying hard to get somewhere but we'll never make it."

"You're… not all that optimistic, are you?"

"I'm just practical or given up, I guess. No one else seems to care."

The kid obvious had some sort of problem, that was obvious, "I see… well, I should get going now."

"Yeah, see ya…"

Walking away quickly, Daisuke knew for a fact that he was being watched by that child and suppressed a shudder. He didn't know why this was so – it was just a kid and all – but something about what he had said about the pillar had been gruesomely true. If the pillar was damaged in any serious way, the people living in the slums would be crushed below; and that was a lot worse than just having to live in tragically horrible conditions for as long as they did live for, which obviously wasn't all that long, and so forth.

This was just another reason as to why Shinra should have been dealt with years ago. This is what the innocent people got, and they couldn't do a thing about it. They weren't strong enough and they had no one to turn to; they had given up, lost hope. That was how it was.

And this was the exact reason as to why AVALANCHE had been formed, or that was what he assumed anyway. Argentine had finally blown a fuse or something, gathered people of a like mind and the group was formed and now their main objective was to hit Shinra where it hurt the most. At this point it was the reactors that pumped all the energy into the large city, but if they were destroyed, it meant they were wide open for a crisis that they could never deal with. The other aim was to somehow get into Shinra HQ; but they had yet to work out how they were going to do that.

Shinra had hurt people; destroyed their lives and hurt the people around the, close or not. It was a sentimental sort of thing that the rebel group AVALANCHE had, but all for the right reasons. Not that that didn't mean people wouldn't get hurt, but sometimes sacrifices had to be made.

Heading down a pathway that was lined with rubble and broken machinery melded together, it wasn't hard to find where the rest of the team now was; or was that because of the familiar gun shots being set off by Argentine as he cleared the place up? Going into a quick jog, he entered the slums and was met with the most depressing sight ever.

'Slums' was definitely the kind term for the place. The air was a rank stench and the housing was beyond poor, with everything haphazardly thrown all together for the sake of trying to stay alive. It was most surprising to see that there was some form of lighting present, but the hanging air that life would have been better dead was so clearly stamped in this place. A couple of men staggered about, some looking more sober than others, while the redhead noted a man currently hitting a steel door and begging for entrance.

It was really too much of a harsh reality that he never wanted to face. But it had always been like that, hadn't it? No matter how hard one person tried, it was near impossible to try and help them all. For wasn't one person's good fortune another's misery? It was all part of the balance of life; and the negative half was taking over it all.

Walking past it all and trying hard not to get too nauseated by the thought, he soon caught sight of an irate Argentine, who had both arms crossed and glaring at nothing in particular in front of him. Some of the staggering people kept shooting glares at him, but he paid them no heed. The sounds within the rickety-like building – with a giant sign reading 7th Heaven – was a restaurant and bar mixed together and Daisuke concluded that the brunette had cleared out the place pretty fast to allow the rest of the team entrance. Stifling a smile at that thought – it was rather comical, he had to admit – he approached him.

"You took your time," snapped the brunette, giving the teen a glare.

"We weren't supposed to be suspicious," the redhead shrugged, before being given another glare and allowed to pass into the restaurant/bar without another comment passing between them.

The double doors swung as he pushed past them and a strangely comforting warmth hit him as he entered. There was something more homely about this place, so unlike the slums outside. True, the technology wasn't all that great and it was quite dreary looking, but the mark of people coming and going and just seeing the rest of the team now arguing and eating reminded him of something far back.

Home? Yeah, how long had it been since he had been there?

His ears picked up the sound of someone small running, over the din and the yelling – in which Jessie was telling Biggs off – and he scanned the room and noticed a small blonde girl with wavy hair running towards him. Or at least towards the entrance of the place.

"Daddy!"

"Eh?" Having never seen her before, Daisuke could only look down with a confused expression. The child gasped when she noticed that she did NOT know the person and bolted off into a darker corner like she'd just been burnt. This, of course, baffled the teen more so and he blinked; just then a voice he recognized immediately floated through the room. Not only that, but Dark seemed to stir as well, making a random comment in the process.

((So when are we jumping off that building again?))

(… You know, you could stop making such random comments,) Daisuke shot back as he watched a very pretty brunette run from behind to the counter and towards the girl. "…"

"Misaki-chan, you shouldn't be so rude to guests!" she chided playfully, calming the distraught child down. It wasn't long before the blonde five-year-old was clutching the brunette around the neck in a piggyback as the older girl walked over to meet the redhead. "Daisuke, it's been a while, hasn't it?" she smiled.

"Risa…" smiling back, he could almost see Dark's knowing smirk within his mind. If it had been awkward after the rejection, he wasn't feeling that now and he knew that things between them as friends would never change. Since she was carrying the child on her back, he dug around in his pocket and pulled out the flower that Dark had bought. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"I suppose so," Risa bounced a bit on the spot, Misaki laughing a little, but obviously still conscious of the stranger before her. "Daisuke, I'm so glad to see you so well. After all those years training with…" she trailed off at this, lost in thought and he scratched the back of his head with his free hand, feeling the tension building up.

"Yeah, so how've you been and all?" he held up the flower for a moment, inspecting it, and then held it out to Risa. "I picked this up for you, though." He ignored Dark's snort of indignity as the brunette took it from him.

"Oh, thank you so much Daisuke; how thoughtful of you," she beamed, "It's so hard to find anything with remote colour here these days."

"It was nothing," he said lightly, ignoring Dark's rather loud comments on the matter of the fact that HE was the one who bought it, not Daisuke himself; all the usual quarrels they had. "It's just great to see you again."

"And--" began Risa, but was cut short as Argentine suddenly barged in and Misaki gave a shriek.

"Daddy!" jumping off the brunette's back, she charged to the team leader and he swept her up, smiling. "I missed you."

"…"

((Whoa, that jerk has a kid? Has the world gone completely insane?)) asked Dark, surprise lacing his voice.

(Maybe to you, but what are you going to do about it?) Daisuke replied as he watched father and daughter laughing and talking to one another like there wasn't a care in the world.

"Pass it over here," Wedge called from the table.

"Come on, you have to stop eating so much," muttered Jessie, rolling her eyes as she passed whatever item he'd wanted.

"Everyone into HQ," Argentine suddenly barked out, returning to his evil-leader-like-whatever routine. Everyone jumped to obey as he stormed towards a lone pinball machine by the wall, Misaki sitting on his shoulder. Pulling a lever, the entire contraption shuddered and began to sink downwards where the basement was likely to be located. When he was out of sight, Jessie, Biggs and Wedge jumped down after him.

The pinball machine slowly rumbled back into place before becoming still once more. Risa gave her childhood friend another smile before returning behind the counter that she began to wipe down.

In a way, the redhead wanted to stay behind and talk to her some more, mostly about what they had missed and done during the years, but the idea of being told off by Argentine again for being late wasn't exactly what he was looking forward too.

He approached the pinball machine and did exactly what Argentine had done; it shuddered slightly as it slid down a large sort of bar and he turned away from the wall to see where he was being led to. The bar soon disappeared from sight and he was faced with a large metal-like room with sacking for chairs and most likely accommodation. There was a computer in one of the corners and a large television screen dominated one of the walls. The low-leveled table sat near the center of the room, and the rest of the place had boxes and crates around.

Jessie was currently focused on typing someone out on the computer while Biggs and Wedge stared blankly at nothing in particular as they sat on the sacking. Argentine was currently beating the hell out of a poor red punch bag while his daughter sat on the crate; watching curiously.

As the pinball/elevator ground to a halt, Daisuke stepped off and noticed that the screen was on a recent report on a 'terrorist attack'. The reporter was a glasses-wearing-looking-more-like-a-nerd and just rambled on about how President Shinra had reassured everyone that everything was under control. Argentine, despite beating the punch bag into a pulp, snorted at this declaration.

"Think they're so good… poisoning the earth… we'll get them…" he grumbled.

"I think we made the all clear this time, and none the wiser," Jessie said as Daisuke passed her, "Although we can't use the same IDs twice, I should have them ready by tonight for the next mission."

The redhead nodded vaguely at this, not paying all that much attention to what was being said as part of his mind was telling him to leave already, or to just go and join Biggs and Wedge in their marvelous staring at the wall… whatever it was. But before he could come to a simple conclusion, Argentine suddenly focused his attention on him.

"You see that?" he asked, turning and smirking slightly, "Shinra can't cope with these types of things, no matter what they say. Even those losers they hire in first class couldn't take it. They didn't even know what was going on until it was too late." The smug look on his face was beginning to get annoying, like he was teaching a disagreeable five-year-old his times tables.

"And what's that got to do with me?" Daisuke asked, crossing his arms and returning the look coolly.

((Is he saying that we're stupid or something?)) growled Dark dangerously, ((Because if he is, I'm going to have to teach him a lesson he'll never forget.))

(Dark…)

"What do you think?" barked the brunette, smirk gone as he walked up to the much smaller redhead, "You joined the bloody company that are polluting the place and that's all you can say? You didn't know, they never do. And this is all you're going to tell me!" he seemed to be getting himself into the sort of mood that one would not want to be around to witness and Daisuke took a step back, frowning slightly.

"It's not about what I know and don't know," he said back, "Shinra don't tell us a lot of things, first class or not. You have to dig a lot to find out, and that alone is a task you don't want to have to do."

"Are you trying to get out of the fact that you were once like them?" Argentine took a step forward and the other little voice in the redhead's mind (that was neither Dark or the one at the reactor) told him to run far, far away unless he wanted to get caught into a brawl. But the stinging insult of being compared to the other mindless SOLDIER zombies made him stand his ground.

"I'm not like them."

"Yeah?"

Biggs, sensing the danger, jumped up and attempted to restrain the brunette, but was thrown back forcefully into the wall. Groaning, he cast a glance over at where the pinball machine was located, as if praying for a miracle before HQ became a blood battleground.

His prayers were answered quite rapidly as Risa made the scene by jumping down the platformed area and getting in between both Argentine and Daisuke; both looking ready to brawl.

"Stop it right now! You know that you're not supposed to hurt people during a meeting!" she snapped, "And he helped us get rid of the reactor! How could you be so rude?"

"I think you know the reason to that--" grumbled Argentine, but the brunette cut past him.

"I've known him for years and this is how you treat him? Why do you think no one wants to get involved with AVALANCHE anymore? What kind of leader are you anyway!"

(We're going, Dark.)

((Really?)) the thief perked up at this; it was clear that he wanted away from Argentine as soon as possible as well.

(Yeah,) ignoring the yelling that was getting louder by the minute, Daisuke went over to the pinball machine and switched it so that it began to rumble upwards. It wasn't like he had wanted to return in the first place, anyway.

There were just too many memories.

000

… Might not have another chapter for a while now. Although, with holidays and all… enjoy.


	8. Chapter Six

Disclaimers: FFVII and DNAngel are legal properties to the owners and companies, so I'm filching off them.

000

Chapter Six:

As the pinball machine/mechanism-that-was-an-elevator shuddered to a halt at the main floor of the bar, Daisuke stepped off. It was completely deserted and the homely feel that he had received upon entrance seemed to have withered away, leaving a cold mist in its wake. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Dark was singing away, most of the lyrics focused on insulting Argentine, but the redhead was too occupied with his own thoughts to really tell his other half off. Anyway, what Dark was singing was true, to an extent.

He was truly glad upon seeing Risa again, that was true, as they had been childhood friends and all, but just thinking about all that, and what position he was in now kind of put him off. Not to mention the whole thing about him being a Phantom Thief and all, but whatever; there was no point lingering on past events that would just have him wallowing in confusion once again anyway.

Being in SOLDIER and working for Shinra… that had been his dream. And he had managed it over years of hard training. And then… well, it had kinda gone downhill since then. But maybe it had something to do with the fact that Dark had been a part of him; and Phantom Thieves weren't all that interested in shooting things and that sort of stuff. Stealing was his specialty, but apparently he had ended up reappearing in the worst era possible. Daisuke could still remember their first conversation…

"_What! I've got a WHAT in me?.!"_

"_A genetic condition, Dai-chan! Oh, father, didn't we ever tell Daisuke about it?"_

"_No… you said something about waiting…"_

"_Oh dear, so I did! But no matter. You see, Daisuke, you have the identity of the great Kaitou Dark and all that and it's the Niwa family destiny!"_

"… _I'm going to my room…"_

Clump, clump, clump.

"_And you're feeling of romance is what triggers Dark off!" called his mother from the foot of the staircase. "So be careful when you're around Risa-chan, you hear me?"_

"…_!"_

_Daisuke collapsed on his bed and stared at the ceiling, (This is all your fault, you know.)_

_((How so?)) Dark shot back, who, if he'd had his own body, would have scowled by now._

_(For existing.)_

_((Hey, I never asked to be placed in a little redheaded shrimp like you.))_

_(Say what!)_

_((I'm not going to repeat myself. What the hell… what kind of room are you living in? What freaking era is this?))_

_(Would it matter?) Daisuke rolled his eyes and told the thief-spirit-whatever it was. Dark, at this point, was swearing loudly. Something about being trapped in a god-forsaken village with no art, etc. etc. It seemed that the redhead was going to be hosting him for a long time…_

Smiling slightly at the thief's reaction, the redhead couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for him now, being stuck without much to do as there wasn't anything he _could_ steal and all that, but there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing anyone could do about it. And as Daisuke had pointed out; when he died and he had heirs, then Dark would eventually come to a time where traveling around to steal artwork was easy…er. Whatever.

He had mentally blocked out Dark's singing (due to a massive produce of profanity) and had made his way towards the swinging doors that marked both entrance and exit. Pushing it just slightly, the suddenly clanking sound to gears working themselves into a frenzy made Daisuke turn around.

((Run for it,)) offered Dark, pausing for a split second in his song to advise this to the boy. But Daisuke, being who he was, didn't and watched as Risa pulled herself up in the last few meters of the moving elevator and ran over to where he was standing; half in and out of the bar.

"Daisuke! You can't just leave now!"

Great, now she was going to attempt to convince him to stay; when it was so clear that _certain _people didn't want him around, "Why not? I mean, I'm a mercenary so now that I've finished the job, I should just leave."

((You're being mean to Risa-chan, did you notice?))

(Yeah, but as much as I don't want to hurt her feelings, I just can't stay here,) he shot back meaningfully, glancing at the brunette warily, (It's clear that Argentine doesn't care and hates our guts, so it's best to leave before we leave behind a pile of corpse.)

((That's not actually a bad idea, you know.))

(Shut up; I'm not going to do that.)

((More's the pity.))

Risa merely frowned at this, placing both hands on her hips and glaring at him pointedly, "Don't give me that, mister! I say you can't leave and for a good reason, too!"

"What reason's that?" he couldn't help but ask, knowing that, as a child, she had the tendency to find excuses out of things or to do something.

"You don't remember?" she seemed surprised, and he could only shrug at this, "Well, this was when we were nine…"

000

It was all dark out in the town of Nibelhiem. Everyone, all the residents, were asleep, although the lights in the inn glowed in a welcoming gesture; promising traveler's a good night's rest and the like. In the center of the small, shabby, yet homely town, sat a well, rather large, as the fan attached on top of it creaked slightly. It was tall, an attempt to keep little children from straying into the well and breaking their necks, but the platforms were easy to climb onto if they really put their mind to it. But that wasn't the point at the moment.

A nine-year-old Risa came over to it, her light-blue summer-dress ruffling in the light breeze. It was a clear night, the sky filled with stars and a crescent moon. She stared at it in awe for a moment, but then gathered herself together and remembered that she had somewhere to go. Both her parents were asleep, as was her sister, and if any of them woke up and noticed her gone, she would be in a lot of trouble.

Clambering onto the large, wooden platform, she sat down, staring at the crinkles in her dress. She didn't have to wait long before a slightly high-pitched voice hailed her.

"Risa-chaaan!"

"Daisuke!" she shouted back happily as the redhead jumped up onto the platform without much trouble. Risa happily swung her legs around, not the least disturbed with the drop below; which was a lot to small children. "Daisuke, why did you ask me to meet you here?"

The bouncy boy moved around restlessly, as if trying to find the right words to explain it to her. Risa turned her head curiously, following the mop of red hair. Suddenly, Daisuke heaved himself up on the edge of the well opposite to where she was sitting and grinned.

"I'm going to be going to Midgar one day!" he proclaimed excitedly.

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah! And I'm going to be joining SOLDIER and get into first class; like the great Aku!"

"Huh--! Really? That's so cool!" Risa scrambled up for a moment, "He's the best Shinra have! Are you really going to be able to do that, Daisuke?" Her eyes showed doubt and she turned away, sitting back down and allowed her legs to swing once more.

"Yeah! I'll be fine!"

"Well, then," she turned, smiling again, "I'll look out on the papers for your name! How about that!"

Daisuke seemed to brim with happiness at this.

"And can you make me a promise?"

"Yeah?"

"When you do get into SOLDIER… if I ever get into trouble… my hero will save me, okay?" a glance over her shoulder, waiting for his reaction.

The redhead replied without any sign of hesitation, "Okay! I promise!"

"Really?"

"Really."

"That's so cool…"

000

"And then five years later you left for Midgar, got into SOLDIER, and now you have to keep your promise!" she finished calmly, pointing a finger at him, "There's no way out of it, Daisuke Niwa!"

(She remembered that!)

((Apparently so.))

"But I was a little kid at the time," he reasoned, while he continued his mental conversation with Dark, (I don't get her sometimes. I mean, sure I had a crush on her, but why does she remember such odd… things?)

((It's in her nature, Dai-chan; you can't get it out of her head and just hope she doesn't remember certain, rather embarrassing, things about you when you were still a kid.))

(You know, I think it's better if you don't mention it…)

"It was still a promise and you said it yourself," it was clear that Risa was not giving up anytime soon, "If you ever get into SOLDIER, you would protect me when I'm in danger and I'm keeping you on that promise whether you like it or not."

Dark grumbled something incoherent.

Daisuke sighed. It was clear that if he didn't stay, he was probably going to be chased all around the world by the brunette, and all that energy wasted…

"Fine, I'll stay then."

He could almost see his other half rolling his eyes at this. Well, he couldn't blame the thief and all.

Risa beamed at this, but their attention swung back to the elevator-that-was-actually-a-pinball-machine and Argentine appeared, still scowling and all, but there. He walked a couple of paces into the room and then threw something over to the redhead, who caught it. He stared blankly at the leather bag in his hand. (Uh… wha?)

"You're payment," Argentine snapped, as if being able to read his mind, "1500 gil."

Daisuke nodded vaguely at this before tucking it away, and Risa was speaking, "Does this mean you'll allow him to go on the next mission?" she must have been frowning pointedly in his direction and the other muttered, not too willingly; "If he wants."

((Are you?))

(Well, Risa just said it herself that she wasn't about to leave me alone so…) "Alright, I'll do it for 4000 gil."

((How much are you planning to steal of him this time?))

Daisuke glanced up and saw that Argentine wasn't exactly happy at this proposition.

"1500," he snapped back. "It's the same as last time anyway."

He shook his head firmly, "Sorry, but I've got priorities. 3000."

"No way!"

Risa went over to him, "Come on, you can pay that much," she hissed.

Argentine muttered back, "But it's for Misaki's schooling!", and then focused his attention back onto the redhead; "2000!"

Daisuke nodded, "Okay then, 2000 gil for this job." He tucked his hands into his pockets and blinked innocently back at the leader of the rebel group, who looked ready to explode in anger. If that was even possible.

But Argentine then just swung around, probably muttering curses under his breath, "Seeing as you'll be coming with us tomorrow, you might as well stay here the night."

"Yeah."

As he stomped off (still cursing, more than likely), Risa turned to smile at her childhood friend-now-ex-SOLDIER, "Come on, then, we better try and find you a place to sleep and all."

He blinked, (Where are we going to sleep in a place like this? It's not really… sleep-welcoming.)

((Ah well, they'll find somewhere,)) Dark replied, apparently rolling over in the crevices of his mind, ((this is when having a host is actually rewarding. I get free accommodation all the time.))

(That's nice to know.)

"Come on, Daisuke!"

Daisuke shot a mental glare at his alter-ego before following Risa back down into headquarters, where everyone else would either be waiting to hear Argentine out, or fearing for their lives.

000

Daisuke rolled over onto his side, the makeshift bedding he was lying on not the most comfortable of places to be attempting to sleep on. Not that he could really be complaining and all, as the rest of the group was also down here. Although he knew he would never admit it out loud, Argentine had made a point during their argument. Most of those recruited into Shinra's army had no idea about what the company did itself, and only did as they were told. They were mindless most of the time, taking relish in putting down the lower status people who were struggling to live.

During his time in SOLDIER, all he had been able to see was mindless words and instructions being passed out, carried out, and then, finally, completed. There was no reason for them doing this. Sure, there were times when they had to get rid of monster invasions or whatever, but when he'd been there… it was all just… pointless, really.

He couldn't really understand it, and probably never would. Dark had always told him that joining the army (if one could call it that) was a bad idea, but the redhead hadn't listened. But what else was he going to do if he hadn't joined SOLDIER? Would he still be home with his mother, helping them to live and stay together? Or would he have ended up with Risa, if he'd stayed a little longer, proving to her that he could be what she wanted. Actually, he didn't know what she wanted in a boyfriend.

Maybe that was the reason he soon fell out of his crush for her. Why he then left for a couple of weeks and found…

The redhead pushed this thought out of his head and stared at the ceiling for a moment. Reminiscing on the past of his few years in life wasn't exactly a good thing, but due to the fact that someone's snoring was actually keeping him up at the moment…

((Remembering the good old times again?))

(What? You're awake?)

A snort, ((Apparently, otherwise I wouldn't be talking to you.))

(Right, whatever,) Daisuke closed his eyes. (Hey, what would have happened if I'd never gone and joined SOLDIER?)

((Well, you wouldn't be able to fight, moped around forever because Risa rejected you, and yeah,)) Dark concluded simply.

(Thanks a lot for the comfort.)

((Remembering him again, huh?))

(That's… none of your business,) yet he couldn't stop the heat from running into his face. Dark sniggered.

((Of course it is; we're more or less the same person, right? Besides, you know how much I remember…))

(Yeah, you keep going on about him all the time. It's not good for my mental stability.)

((Maybe not yours, but if I ever forgot about Krad, I'd have to kill myself.))

(Uhm, isn't that what he tried to do to you when you first met?)

((So? It's an attraction neither one of us could resist.))

(I'm going to sleep.)

((I'm not leaving you alone until you admit you still miss him.))

(Of course I miss him. Now please… just leave me alone…)

The thief seemed to know that he'd hit a delicate nerve and fell silent as Daisuke opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling once more, and had no idea when he fell asleep that night.

"Satoshi…"

000

Bleh, had to make adjustments to the actual storyline so that it (hopefully) made sense. Wait, did I warn everyone that this is going to be slightly shonen-ai? Geh… whatever. I've told you now. Oh, and it's not hard to work out who took Sephiroth's role now, is it? XD (Aku belongs to neko-nya and I kidnapped him. Go figure.)

Review--!


	9. Gag Two: Letter from Barret

Disclaimers: FFVII and DNAngel are legal properties to the owners and companies, so I'm filching off them.

Notes: This is based on the original FFVII characters, but the ideas the same. Done after the mention of letter-writing, the world plagued by monsters, and how dangerous it must have been for the postmen. And now it's Barret's turn.

000

Gag Two: Letter from Barret

Dear (censored) Marlene,

Have you been a good girl at the (censored) bar? Tifa better be taking (censored) good care of you, otherwise she's going to have to deal with (censored) (censored) (censored) me. But I suppose that's not the point, because I know she's taking good (censored) care of you, so I shouldn't be worried. Anyway, what's there to say?

That new person Jessie recruited for the (censored) team is such a (censored) (censored) (censored)… I don't trust him. And now just because he used to be part of (censored) (censored) (censored) Shinra and SOLDIER either. But then again, that is bad as well.

We managed to destroy the (censored) reactor though and we all made it out safe. Although that new guy is really beginning to get on my (censored) nerves. Who does he think he is? Mr. Tough Guy… I'll show him one day…

Hopefully (censored) Tifa is reading this letter to you, because I'm being told by Biggs that I keep (censored) (censored) swearing. Of course, seeing as Jessie's writing this for me, I don't see the (censored) (censored) point in it all in the end. She just keeps (censored) (censored) blocking out all my (censored) (censored) words. I can't see the difference.

Either way, we've destroyed the (censored) reactor, the mercenary isn't the sort of guy I'll ever (censored) trust with my life, and I think (censored) Shinra will be after us again soon. If they ever work out who it is with their (censored) (censored) small minds.

Nothing much has happened, and the (censored) (censored) train was on time, but the (censored) (censored) (censored) mercenary wasn't. Apparently he was in a bit of trouble with the (censored) messed up law. I can't believe the rest of the team were worried at all.

(Censored) (censored) (censored) Swinging (censored).

Well, we're making our way back to the bar anyway. See you soon and be a good girl, Marlene.

Your (censored) (censored) (censored) father,

Barret.

000

As you can see, I didn't try very hard. Oh well… maybe it'll be better next time… maybe…


End file.
